Blonde Date
Here is a short story I wrote for Total Drama Author 2 on the Total Drama Camps wiki. It's not perfect, but I really enjoy how it turned out. I hope you enjoy it. I walked into the bar hesitantly. This wasn't the sort of place I'd normally show up for a date. The atmosphere was... droll, to say the least. My only remaining friend, Joey, had set me up on a blind date. I had never been on one before, but something made me agree to it. I knew what it was. I was lonely. It hurt, being twenty-seven years old and still single. I so desperately wanted to share my life with someone, but had alienated everyone that tried to get close to me. I lost touch with old friends because I didn't know how to speak to them without insulting them. These feelings were entirely internal as I didn't want to break my shell. I didn't want to appear weak. I didn't want to appear human. I took my seat on a stool at the bar. Joey didn't tell me anything about my date, but I had deduced that she wasn't there. My main tip off was the fact that I was the only person in the bar that night that was alone, other than the bartender, but even he was wearing a wedding ring. I'd sneak glances at the happy couples as they giggled and caressed each other. I would quickly avert my gaze and scoff. Such public displays of affection were so juvenile. I was secretly jealous, though. Why hadn't I found my soul-mate? Why did I have to be alone? It cut me on the inside every time I saw a happy couple. Why was I exempt from such happiness? A new presence entered the bar as a small bell was struck as the front door opened. I didn't turn around. I could hear faint voices in the background. I only heard noises, not words, however. The words were too far away to be clear. The speaking stopped, and I could hear another conversation begin, but the words were still inaudible. This conversation stopped, as well. Next, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I was very rigid, I turned and said, "Don't touch me." I had become vocal about my disdain for touch. I secretly longed for the gentle touch of another human after so many years of avoiding physical contact. "Oh gosh, sorry!" an incredibly feminine voice said. I recognized it, and the one who possessed it in an instant. She didn't seem to recognize me, however. She held out a piece of paper and showed me the letters scrawled on the scrap of paper and said, "I'm looking for someone. His name is 'HVON'. It sounds foreign, or something." I thought to myself, "She is such a moron." Out loud I said, "You're holding the paper upside down." I was determined to not allow another relationship to fail from the beginning, because I couldn't control my tongue. I saw her confused expression change as she turned the paper around to one similar to someone who just had a revelation, "Ooh! Duh! It says 'Noah'. I can be such a ditz sometimes." I thought, "Don't give yourself so much credit." Instead I said, "Mistakes happen to the best of us, right? I'm Noah. You must be Lindsay." I was waiting for her to recognize me. It didn't seem like she did. We both generally looked the same as we did eleven years ago. She had a dyed pink streak in her hair which looked completely natural. I had grown out my facial hair. I officially had a soul patch. "Oh! So you're Noah! That sounds so familiar." Lindsay said. I thought, "I was the one you voted off your team first on Total Drama Island, instead of the one that you foolishly followed in spite of her complete lack of any ounce of care toward you." Instead, I said, "I was on a reality show a few years ago." "No," she said, "That's not it... I know! It's that guy from the Bible, or something!" My mouth dropped open in disbelief. "She really is a complete idiot," I thought to myself. "Lindsay, I was on Total Drama Island with you." "Oh!" Lindsay said, "I'm so dumb." "For once," I thought, "I agree with you." Instead, I said, "No you're not, Lindsay." "Aw... Thanks!" She said. "So how've you been since the last time I saw you?" I thought, "You mean, when you were busy ignoring me?" I said, "I graduated from college and I'm now a micro-physicist." I could tell by her expression that she had no idea what that meant. "Really?" Lindsay said, "You must be so totally genius." "Thanks," I said. I thought, "You couldn't figure how smart I was from the time you spent in my vicinity? Oh yeah, you were making out with a guy whose name you couldn't remember." I said, "So what have you been doing since the show?" As if I hadn't watched her career, and wasn't jealous of her spot in the limelight. "I'm a model," she said, "That is, I was. Twenty-seven is way too old in the modeling industry. I was forced to retire." As I gazed at her face, I could see no reason that she couldn't model, anymore. She was still aesthetically beautiful. The world's impression of what was beautiful was so incredibly shallow. "What are you thinking?" She asked. "Nothing," I lied. "So, it didn't work out with Tyler?" I awkwardly changed the subject. She was taken aback by the question as she looked down. "I'm sorry," I said. "Conversation isn't my strong suit." "That's alright, Noah," she said. "We actually dated for a couple of years after Total Drama. I thought we would be together, forever." "What happened?" I asked. My curiosity was genuine, despite my attempts to hide that in my tone. "After a while," Lindsay said, "I thought I was ready for marriage. Can you believe it? Someone as naive and superficial as me?" "Superficial is a big word for someone like you," I thought. "The day came when Tyler invited me out to dinner at a fancy restaurant," She went on. "I was so sure that he was going to propose to me. It was the happiest feeling I had ever experienced." From my standpoint it was obvious that this story didn't have the traditional happy ending. I was right. "Tyler died on the way to meet me at the restaurant. He was in a car accident. I feel so stupid, now. When I was waiting for him at the restaurant thinking he had stood me up. I was so angry at him, thinking he had betrayed me. When someone from the hospital informed me of the accident... I cried. I've cried every day since." She wasn't lying, as the tears began to flow from her eyes. I felt like a complete jerk for bringing up the subject. I hadn't heard about what happened to Tyler. "It was so naive of me, to think that I would end up happy. Now I'm all alone, desperate to find someone to share my life with." "You aren't naive, Lindsay," I said. "Since the last time I saw you, you've grown as a person, and I've stayed the same." "No," she said. "You're nice now, and I'm as stupid as I always was." "It's not true, Lindsay," I said. "Give yourself some credit. You're not the same girl you were eleven years ago. I'm the one who didn't change. I judged you from the experiences I'd had with you before. I was being critical of you, on the inside. It didn't occur to me that you could be any different from the time I had seen you last. But life has made you more aware, while it has made me more cynical, more withdrawn... You're beautiful, Lindsay, the way you are. You don't deserve to be by yourself... I do." "Nobody does," Lindsay said, "Especially you. You've got a lot going for you, you're smart... You're..." "See?" I said, "That's the only thing you could think of. I have nothing else going for me." For the first time in my entire life, I cried. "Don't be so hard on yourself, Noah," Lindsay said. "You're a great person. I'll be able to move on, don't worry about me. Worry about yourself. Don't allow your own sadness to block off any attempts at friendship." She stretched out her arm and placed her hand on mine. I had assumed that Lindsay didn't have the same feelings that I did. She was hiding her inner feelings just as I had. She knew what hurt was on a deep level, probably even more than I did, but I allowed it to make me attempt to cut off all ties to others. I had learned a lesson. Lindsay, the person who I never thought could teach me anything, ever, taught me that it wasn't my sarcasm that made people stand their distance from me. It was the way I tried to appear superior to everyone. What Lindsay called 'sadness' was manifest in the way I spoke to people. I also learned not to judge someone on what they were like in the past. Not to write someone off just because you didn't like them, once. Not to ignore all opportunity for a connection just because someone is different from you. It was getting late. "Thanks for talking to me," I said. "I rarely... I never open up to anyone like that. I'd... I'd like to see you, again. Would you like to meet somewhere more romantic sometime for another date?" "Aw," She said. It was a pleasant sound. I smiled. It wasn't even a cruel smile. "That's so sweet, Noah. You're so nice. But I don't date short guys." She got up from her seat, kissed me on the nose, and waved as she left the bar. I had learned another lesson that night. Lessons are not universal.